


Tinder

by Nival_Vixen



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Based on a Tumblr Post, Complete, Everybody Lives, Fluff, Human Derek Hale, I Blame Tumblr, M/M, Nerd Stiles, Prompt Fill, SO MUCH FLUFF, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-23
Updated: 2014-03-23
Packaged: 2018-01-16 17:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1355674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nival_Vixen/pseuds/Nival_Vixen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tinder AU - Derek accidentally swiped right and ‘liked’ Stiles’s photo and they made a “connection” and Derek is too nice to let Stiles down so they keep chatting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tinder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eeames](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eeames/gifts).



> Based on this [Tumblr post/request](http://nivalvixen.tumblr.com/post/78542518454/eeames-teen-wolf-tinder-au-where-derek) by eeames
> 
> I admit that I've never used Tinder before, so this is written purely from their promotional video and what I think the app should do.

Derek had finally bought a new and up-to-date phone, and Cora decided to  _helpfully_  add apps to it for him. He’s currently in one fire-match-tinder thing, whatever, and he has absolutely no idea what he’s doing. Cora’s no help, laughing in the background over some ridiculous photo of a guy and his friend with their hands in their faces. (He wants to believe they’re just joking around, but who knows with kids these days?)

He swipes the picture to try and get away from it, or to get to anything else to try and stop Cora’s laughter, he’s not sure. Derek is sure that he’s done something wrong because a little heart lights up green and that’s probably not a good thing. Cora’s laughter fades and bursts into hiccups when she realises what he’s done, but she refuses to say anything other than ‘you should enjoy it, you old grump!’ which doesn’t make him think any higher of this whole thing. She just said it was a picture app, but with the heart thing, Derek’s starting to think that he should have known better than to trust her.

Cora takes her hiccups and leaves him alone when Derek mutters something about telling Laura just who stole and then lost her favourite sweater. He contemplates calling Laura anyway, but then his phone makes a noise and he’s got a message.

_'Hey, saw you liked my photo. I'm Stiles_.’

Derek - to put it mildly - panics.  _Fuck. What does he do now? Where the hell’s the keyboard on this thing? Oh, right, there it is… Shit, which one is he in the photo? … Does he actually need to reply? Was that a rhetorical statement_?

‘ _Uh, sorry, was that too soon? No pressure. I just thought your pic looked good. Shit. Awkward. Never mind. I’ll just go away forever now._ ’

_Fuck again_. He feels bad for this kid, even though he still doesn’t know which one he actually is, and hurries to type a reply.

‘ _Hi, I’m Derek. It’s fine. New phone, still learning. Interesting photo_.’

‘ _Oh, yeah, I remember what I was like with my phone when I first got it. Now I can probably type in my sleep. You’ll get the hang of it. :) My friend and I were being dorks, and then he went and posted it on here for me. Didn’t have the heart to delete it_.’

Derek turns his head to see the smiley face on his screen properly, and can’t stop the grin that forms.

And that’s basically how it starts.

Derek keeps talking to Stiles, and as he and his friend seem to be together in every photo on his Tinder account, Derek still has no idea which one he’s talking to. He gets faster on his keyboard, just as Stiles said he would, and while he probably won’t be texting in his sleep any time soon, he thinks he’s gotten pretty good at the double thumb typing technique.

Stiles messages him at random times of the day and night, usually with a picture of him with his friend doing something. (There’s one where they’re both hiding behind tall books, eyebrows raised. It’s Derek’s favourite, because the-one-he-hopes-is-Stiles has such expressive eyes, so much so that Derek can tell he’s smiling behind the hardcover.)

Derek tries to message back just as often, but he hates taking selfies. Fortunately, Cora and Laura both offer to take photos with or of him if they’re nearby, and lately they seem to be conspiring to  _never leave him alone_. Stiles, whichever guy he is, always likes his photos in a matter of minutes, and Derek can’t help but smile whenever he sees that message pop up.

They talk about books, movies, music, and anything and everything; while they disagree about some things (namely, how awesome Star Wars is), there are other things they agree on 100% (how awful Jar-Jar Binks is). Derek can’t really believe that he’s falling for a guy and he doesn’t even know what he looks like. Well, he knows what he  **might**  look like, but somehow the thought doesn’t reassure him.

Stiles is the forward one in this … whatever this is, and is the first to suggest meeting up IRL. (Derek has to Google that, and it takes him a minute to realise he means meet in person, and how the hell’s he going to do that if he doesn’t know which guy he’s meant to be meeting?!) Cora and Laura gang up on him and make him reply yes _yes_ **yes**  (he doesn’t quite put it like that, no matter how much they plead), and somehow, Derek’s gone from technophobe with a new phone, to a guy with a new phone and a hopefully-hot date.

He turns up to the bakery café fifteen minutes early (Cora made him change his shirt three times; he honestly has no idea what’s wrong with black, grey, or dark grey clothing), and finds  _both of them_  sitting there.  _What the hell is he meant to do now_?

The one with the shorter hair (it’s been growing out, and so has he, Derek notices in surprise - the pictures haven’t shown this side to him) lights up completely, sitting up a bit straighter and smiling so widely Derek thinks his jaw might break. Derek can’t help but grin back at him. Then he turns to his longer-haired friend, muttering something low and with a brief nod, his friend comes over to where Derek’s kind of hovering in the doorway.

"You’re Derek?" he asked, glancing him up and down in a way he probably thought was threatening.

"Yeah."

"All right. Stiles is my best friend, and since you’re still a strange guy he met online, I’m staying here until you can prove you’re not an axe murderer or something. And let me tell you, if you so much as  _look_  at him the wrong way, I will hurt you in a very imaginative way. One that Stiles will probably have to think of, but still, you get my point.”

"Uh, sure thing, Scott," Derek replied distractedly, because he was right, and the one he wanted to be Stiles is definitely Stiles.

He lets Scott lead him over to Stiles, and Stiles looks both nervous and excited, like he’s had too much caffeine, and Derek tries not to laugh at the sight. Stiles gets up for a handshake or a hug, and ends up squishing their hands between their bodies, and Derek does laugh then, but it’s warm and Stiles just grins at him again.

A few days later, Derek will remember to thank Cora for setting up his phone for him.

(At their wedding a few years later, she’ll ever so kindly tell the story of how he might have ended up with Scott. Stiles will laugh until the champagne comes out of his nose.)

...

The end.

Thanks for reading!


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